European Union

Macron's opponents are now mobilising for June's legislative polls in the hope of making a lame duck out of the president — and hinder his plans for a stronger EU.

Since the first wave of COVID-19, the EU has been working on strengthening its response to the pandemic outbreak. But now it is ready to face a new phase.

The Council of Europe called on Thursday for an ad hoc international criminal tribunal to be set up "urgently" to issue international arrest warrants and investigate and prosecute crimes allegedly committed by the Russian military in Ukraine. The call by the Strasbourg-based rights watchdog follows images of alleged atrocities in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities as well as reports of the use of rape and torture as weapons of war.

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted a series of proposals for a revision of the EU’s legislative process.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted a series of proposals for a revision of the EU’s legislative process.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

The European Commission announced on Thursday that 112 cities in Europe will receive €360m from the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation Horizon Europe in 2022 and 2023 to support projects that help these urban areas to become climate neutral by 2030. Projects will be in the area of clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning. Nearly 400 cities have applied to be part of this project.

The Schengen visa system is set to be fully digitalised under a new Commission proposal which would funnel applications and payments through a single platform. 

Brussels said EU member states must guarantee that gas buyers pay for Russian gas in euros in order to respect sanctions against Moscow.

Spokespersons for Parliament and for political groups will hold a briefing on the 2-5 May plenary session this Friday at 11.00, in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Spokespersons for Parliament and for political groups will hold a briefing on the 2-5 May plenary session this Friday at 11.00, in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

We all thought the job of the UN secretary-general was the ultimate achievement for a senior diplomat with a flawless reputation and outstanding international career. But the body language of Antonio Guterres during his meeting with Vladimir Putin suggests otherwise - that he, in fact, may have the worst job in the world.

The UK government has decided not to impose customs checks on EU imports until the end of 2023, in a major policy U-turn announced on Thursday (28 April).

Living with the COVID-19 pandemic for over two years, Europeans are falling into "pandemic and vaccination fatigue", but health organisations worldwide are concerned about how new variants could set the world back to day one, as low-income countries reached only 15% of vaccination coverage.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Kiril Petkov urged Europe on Thursday (28 April) to be "stronger" and find alternatives to Russian gas, during a visit to Ukraine.

Join this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to discuss what a potential policy framework for supplements could look like, given the regulatory environment is broadly in place.

Since the pandemic, the public image of big pharma companies such as Sanofi, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Bayer has improved, according to a survey of 2,150 patient groups worldwide.

Written by Alex Wilson (1st edition).

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered serious concerns about EU energy security. The problem is particularly acute in the gas sector, where Russia is the leading third-country supplier, on which several Member States are heavily dependent. To ensure the EU is prepared for the risk of an interruption of gas supplies next winter, the Commission has proposed an urgent regulation on gas storage, requiring Member States to: fill in at least 80 % of their storage capacity by 1 November 2022 (rising to 90 % in subsequent years); carry out the certification of all gas storage system operators; and provide a 100 % tariff discount on entry and exit points into gas storage.

The Commission has suggested that this regulation be agreed under an expedited procedure by the Parliament and the Council, so that it can start taking full effect from summer 2022. The ITRE committee decided to call for use of the urgent procedure (Rule 163) without a committee report, and appointed a negotiating team of MEPs to enter immediately into interinstitutional negotiations with the Council and the Commission. This decision was endorsed during the April plenary session of the European Parliament.

EU storage capacity (TWh) Versions

• April 2022: New EU regulation on gas storage (1st edition)

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and Regulation (EC) No 2009/715 on conditions for access to natural gas transmission networks Committee responsible:Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)COM(2022) 135
23.3.2022Negotiating team:Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland), coordinator
Patrizia Toia (S&D, Italy)
Klemen Grošelj (Renew, Slovenia)
Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, France)
Paolo Borchia (ID, Italy)
Zdzislaw Krasnodębski (ECR, Poland)
Sandra Pereira (The Left, Portugal)2022/0090(COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council on
equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Next steps expected:

The EU Court of Justice ruled on Thursday (28 April) that consumer groups can autonomously bring legal proceedings for alleged breaches of data protection rules as long as national law allows it.

On Wednesday (27 April), the EU Commission presented its proposals for a legal migration package that should make it easier for EU companies to find workers from third countries and should protect migrants from abusive labour practices.

After Gazprom's halt in deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria Russia is now threatening to cut off gas supplies to other countries that refuse to comply with the payment model demanded by Moscow. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, has warned that any companies that comply and pay in roubles will face consequences as this would violate the EU sanctions. Europe's press fears for the bloc's cohesion.